Most predictions going into the Week 1 showdown between the Patriots and the Seahawks favored the reigning Super Bowl Champions to win again, largely because of the high of unveiling their latest Championship banner and being surrounded by the loudest fans in the NFL in Seattle.
Within those predictions, the Patriots didn't lose by much. In fact, most believed it would be a fairly close game, which might be one of the best ways for a team to lose.
And although that is what we saw, the game couldn't have felt like a bigger gap between two teams who met in the biggest game of every NFL season seven months ago.
The worst part of it all was that the Patriots were in the game until the very end, and had it not been for the unfathomable three interceptions by Drake Maye, the Patriots could very well be on their way back to Foxboro with a check in the win column.
Instead, their quarterback is getting blasted online for looking like Mac Jones, with his careless mistakes that cost them the game. That feeling only worsened after hearing Maye's honesty about what he feels led to the game-losing turnovers.
Drake Maye showed glimpses of Mac Jones in a way no Patriots fan ever hoped to see
While speaking with reporters after the loss, Maye took ownership of his costly mistakes and emphasized that he knows they cost the Patriots the game.
More notably, he said he "stopped being patient" in the latter part of the game, and that likely led to his carelessness, which is a trait Patriots fans became all too familiar with during Mac Jones's tenure in Foxboro.
Drake Maye on losing patience late in game:
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) September 10, 2026
“I just stopped being patient. We were really good up to the point where I forced one up the sideline to Romeo...just stopped being patient and made decisions that cost us the game."
-@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/GyyobHzvWk
May we never see that again and never hear this excuse again, either.
While it's completely understandable that players grow impatient or frustrated during a game, especially when it's not going their way, it can't get to the point where that dictates how you play the game because, more often than not, it leads to crucial mistakes. And look how that worked out for Maye.
We saw some of this in the postseason last season, too, which clouded how people perceived his overall performance, and those are bad habits that cannot continue in 2026 if he hopes to lead the Patriots to success again.
It will need to be a typical Week 1 game that feels like a continuation of the preseason, a chance to shake off the nerves, and a way to get some of the season out of the way. That's what it has to be, and what the team needs to make a reality, or their season will already be off the rails before it truly begins.
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